Apple’s iOS 5.1 is reportedly nearly upon us according to BGR, as they’ve gotten a hold of the GM version of iOS 5.1. There are changes included, which should arrive when it’s released around March 9th.

First up, we have the lock screen change: slide-to-unlock will now allow you to slide the lock screen to access the camera. This should help if you want to quickly grab your iPhone out of your pocket/bag/whatever and quickly take a photo. Instead of having to slide-to-unlock, press the Camera app, and snap away.

Second, Siri has taken a trip to Japan and has learnt Japanese. iOS 5.1 now sports Japanese as a selectable language. We should expect this around March 9th, which would make sense as the rumored iPad 3 should hit around that time.